


Unashamed Felinity

by AquaMarixne



Category: Cats (2019)
Genre: Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Multi, Not Beta Read, Redemption Arcs, really just pure fluff, very light angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:41:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22327270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AquaMarixne/pseuds/AquaMarixne
Summary: In which Victoria is trying her best to adapt to her new life, Mistoffelees is working hard to build his confidence, and Munkustrap is ridiculously proud of both of them.
Relationships: Mr. Mistoffelees/Munkustrap/Victoria
Comments: 6
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I've written in a few years, and it's also the first one I've written in english (my first language is portuguese), so I ask you guys to have patience with me lmao  
> Criticism is very much welcome, and if you find a typo or any mistake, feel free to let me know!!  
> I hope you guys enjoy it :)))
> 
> -aqua

As dawn came and the Jellicles scattered, Victoria helped Old Deuteronomy down from the monument so the elder cat could go back to her humans.

"Thank you, my dear," the Jellicle leader said, "do you have a place to stay?"

"I thought maybe I could go back to the theatre until I figure something out..." the white cat replied, looking down with embarrassment. She didn't want to be a burden.

Old Deuteronomy then reached out to her, tilting up the other cat's chin with her paw.

"There's no nothing to feel embarrassed for, child. You are a Jellicle now, and we take care of our own." said the elder, softly, "I'll talk to Munkustrap on my way home and make sure he sees that you'll get settled."

Victoria felt a weight get lifted from her heart at the other's words.

"I... I can't thank you enough."

"There's nothing to thank me for, dear." Old Deuteronomy spoke softly, "It's my duty as the leader to look after all of you. Now, off you go, it was a lot of excitement for one night, you must be exhausted."

Victoria nodded at that, gently nudging the other's shoulder with her forehead as if to say goodbye, and turned to make her way back to the theatre.

When she arrived at the Jellicle meeting spot, she glanced around, noticing a few other cats sleeping around. So maybe she wasn't the only one without a family.  
The white cat walked to a corner where the sunlight started to spill from the windows, and an old curtain laid on the floor, which she arranged in a nest-like form so she could make herself comfortable.

And with a light heart and a warm place to stay, Victoria fell asleep like she hadn't since her first night with her human family.

_Flashes of bright lights and colourful paper wrapping, the sound of child laughter, replaced suddenly with the cold hard floor, scarce meals and the yelling of adults, and then finally with the dark inside of a pillowcase._  
_The feeling of panic crawling up her throat, and then she couldn't breathe, and she was alone, alone, alone-_

"Victoria."

She gasped awake and sat up quickly, eyes wide and chest heaving.

"Hey, hey," a soft voice said, a warm paw on her shoulder, "It's alright it was just a nightmare."

Victoria blinked to clear her vision, looking around to see it was Munkustrap, the other Jellicle leader, who spoke to her. She then took a deep breath to calm her nerves, as the grey cat watched her in silence.

Only when her heartbeat slowed, and her breathing went back to normal did he speak,

"Better?"

"Better," Victoria replied with a nod and a shy smile.

Munkustrap then moved from his crouched position on the floor to sit beside her on the curtain, his moves slow and gentle not to startle her.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked, nudging her shoulder gently with his nose.

Victoria considered the cat beside her for a moment. He had been the first one to reach out to her. Were it not for him she'd still be inside that pillowcase in the cold alleyway.  
If she didn't trust him, then who?

Then, curling herself up tighter, she spoke in a quiet voice,

"I was dreaming about my old family."

Munkustrap stayed in silence, waiting for her to continue, eyes trained on her face.

"The older humans got me as an early Christmas gift for their little one," she paused, taking a deep breath, "They were nice for the first few days but..."

Her eyes were tearing up, and a quiet sob threatened to make its way up her throat.

"I don't know what happened," she continued, "But they suddenly didn't want me anymore. I wasn't allowed on the furniture, and- and they forgot to feed me often-"

The white cat was now fully crying, turning her face away so the other wouldn't see it.

"Hey," Munkustrap said, softly, rubbing his brow on the crook of her neck, "It's okay."

She turned back to him, laying her head on top of his. They remained like that for a while, until Victoria calmed down.

She took a deep breath and hesitantly straightened herself, so the other cat could do the same.

"They eventually stopped giving me attention altogether, until one night while I was asleep in the kitchen they just grabbed me and..."

She stopped, unable to continue.

"Was that when we found you?" the grey cat inquired in a low voice.

She gave him a quick nod while looking at the floor, unable to meet his eyes.

"Victoria," he called, in a soft yet firm tone, "look at me."

The white cat turned her head slowly towards him until their eyes met. Being close to their leader like that, as the centre of his attention, was almost too much to bear. Still, she held his gaze.

"I understand how you must still feel the hurt of abandonment, after all, everything happened just last night," he started, "but you're one of us now. We will look after you."  
At that, Victoria smiled, tentatively resting her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you," she whispered, "for everything."

"Don't worry about it," he replied, leaning against her and closing his eyes, "It's what we do."

They stayed like that for a while, until the soft sound of paws hitting the floor drew their attention.

"Hmm good morning, Mistoffelees," Munkustrap greeted, without opening his eyes.

Victoria looked up to see the tuxedo cat standing awkwardly in front of them, hat clutched in his paws in front of him.

"Good morning," the white cat said with a smile.

Mistoffelees stood there for a few seconds, eyes darting between the other two cats.

"Uh, g-good morning," he replied, nervously, "I wanted to see how you uh spent the night."

Victoria was about to reply when Munkustrap's low chuckle drew her attention.

"It's a good that you're here, Mistoffelees," the grey tabby said as he got up.

At that, the other tom blinked at him.

"Is it- I mean, why?"

Munkustrap smiled with endearment, "because I have some business to attend to, and I would like you to show Victoria around."

Victoria fought the sudden disappointment that washed over her. She had grown very fond of Mistoffelees, of course, but she also enjoyed Munkustrap's presence. However, she realized he, in his position as the leader, must have a lot on his plate. The knowledge made her want to hang her head in shame for having occupied so much of his time.  
But Munkustrap wouldn't want her to think of herself as a burden, so she shook off the guilt.

"That would be lovely," she added, turning to the tux, "Would you do that?"

"Of course! I mean, sure."

"Fantastic," said Munkustrap, with a step back, "I'll leave you two to it then. Just be sure to return before dusk."

With that, the Jellicle leader turned his back to them and sauntered off to attend to his duties. The two younger cats watched him walk away until Victoria turned her attention to Mistoffelees.

"So," she started, "where are we going first?"

He stopped to think for a moment before he replied, "are you hungry?”

She hadn't noticed the low rumble in her stomach until then, but now that he had brought it up...

“I'm starving,” she replied.

“Good, my humans left early in the morning, so we can stop by the house and find you something to eat,” he paused, “If that's okay with you.”

“It's perfect, thank you.”

With that, Mistoffelees led her out of the theatre and through the neighbourhood. They walked together on the sidewalk, chatting lightly and stopping only to point out the houses of the cats who lived nearby.

“...and in that brick house over there live the twins, Tantomile and Coricopat.”

Victoria nodded so he'd know she was listening, adding the house to her mental list of places to remember.

“And where does Munkustrap live?” she asked, after a few minutes.

“Oh? He lives in an apartment building a couple houses away from me,” the black cat replied, struggling to suppress the jealousy that bloomed in his chest.

Munkustrap was their leader, and he had been the one to reach out to Victoria. Of course she would be fond of him. And besides, Mistoffelees had no right to be jealous.

“Oh, so you must see each other a lot,” she said.

“Well... not really,” Mistoffelees said, with a hint of sadness, “he's usually busy dealing with the clan's affairs, or with his human.”

“I see… do all Jellicles have humans?”

“What? Oh! No, not everyone,” he replied “Many of us live in the streets too. It depends on what suits each cat best.”

A mix of emotions duelled in Victoria's chest. It was good that she could just keep on being a stray. She wasn't healed yet from the trauma of her previous human home.  
But at the same time, she didn't want to be alone again. And despite Munkustrap having told her the Jellicles would take care of her, she knew she couldn't demand them to be always by her side. Every cat needed their independence.  
She could have told all this to her new friend, but Mistoffelees was just beginning to get over his own insecurities. She couldn't overwhelm him now by dumping her issues on him.

No. This was something she would have to sort out on her own. At most, ask Munkustrap for help.

“I see… that's nice,” she replied.

If her tone was awkward, Mistoffelees didn't comment on it.

“Here we are,” he said cheerfully, “ my home.”

It was a nice house, two stories high and with a front lawn.

“This is where the little ones play,” he said, stepping on the grass.

Victoria then followed him to the back, so they could enter through the kitchen door. He led her to one of the counters, which had various packages of snacks neatly organized.

“Take your pick,” he said, welcoming her to hop onto the counter with him.

She looked around, eyes wide. She had never been allowed to eat that kind of stuff.

“Are you sure this is okay?” she asked, hesitantly.

He turned to her, tentatively bumping his head on her shoulder.

“Of course it is,” he assured her, “the humans always buy way too many of these, anyway. They won't even notice it's gone.”

With his reassurance, she took a look around, until she found one that looked nice.

“Could we share that one?”, she asked, gesturing to a bright orange package.

“Yes! It's one of my favourites,” he said excitedly, pulling his wand from his hat.

Victoria watched with a twinge of pride while he used his magic to open the snack and pour it in a metal bowl on the floor. In the course of one night, the cat had managed to find the strength within himself to use his magic fully. And the fact she had helped him, even if just a little, made her heart melt.

After they were done eating, they resumed their tour of the neighbourhood. As Mistoffelees was showing Victoria a club that was another usual hang out spot of the jellicles, a chuckle interrupted them.

“Now would you look at that,” said Cassandra, resting on the second-floor balcony of the building next to the club.

Victoria watched her with a bit of wariness. Then, the siamese leapt to the lower balcony and to the ground in front of them.

“What brings _you_ to this part of town?” she inquired, her eyes as intense as ever.

Mistoffelees fought the urge to squirm under Cassandra's eyes and took a breath to steady himself.

“Munkustrap asked me to show Victoria around,” he said, a bit too quickly, but still proud of himself for not stuttering.

Cassandra only hummed in response.

Then, she approached Victoria carefully, to show she meant no harm and bumped noses with the other in greeting. The action took the white cat by surprise, but it was a very welcome one.

“It's good to have other girls around,” Cassandra said, taking a step back, “you should stop by to hang with me and the other girls some time.”

“I would love to,” Victoria replied, with a sincere smile.

“I'll see you around then,” the other said, turning her back, “now, off with you two.”

They watched as the queen made her way back to the rooftop, before turning to leave.

“That was unexpected,” Victoria said, once she was sure Cassandra wouldn't hear her.

“She's has a habit of giving newcomers a hard time,” Mistoffelees replied, “but she always comes around. Despite her tough act, she cares a lot about the clan."

Knowing that the other queen didn't have anything against her managed to put Victoria's mind at ease. At least now she had one less cat she needed to worry about.

After that, they spent the afternoon together. Both of them being so caught up in each other’s company, they barely noticed as the hours flew by. Victoria, so new to their world, was at the same time excited to take in as much as she could, and too shy and unsure to see anything by herself. And Mistoffelees, still not used to having so much of the other cats’ attention, was grateful for her presence, not only because she drew the spotlight away from him, but also for the way here mere being there soothed his insecurities.

But even as lost in their little world as they were, neither of them could forget what Munkustrap had asked of them. So, as dusk approached, both cats made their way back to the theatre.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fluff & feelings, basically

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter two!! I'll try to stick to a weekly schedule for posting, and hopefully, I'll be able to do it. Plus, I think I'm beginning to get rid of my writing rust.  
> Anyway, I hope you guys like it!!
> 
> \- aqua

As soon as they arrived at the theatre, Mistoffelees got dragged into conversation by some of the older cats, leaving Victoria to wander around until Munkustrap appeared. Still feeling too out of place to approach anyone, she walked to an isolated corner by a window, from where she could see the last rays of sunlight.  
She was in deep thought when her attention was drawn by the sound of two sets of footsteps walking up to her. She turned to them, expecting Munkustrap and Mistoffelees when she realized it wasn't their scent she picked up.

"Hi, Victoria," said Rumpleteazer in a bit of a shy tone.

Her brother, Mungojerrie, was right behind her.

The presence of the twins immediately put her on alert. Memories of their first encounter flooded her mind. The way they had tricked her into messing up that house with them, just to abandon her at the first sign of trouble...

"Hey, hey," Rumpleteazer started, sensing the others defensive behaviour, "we come in peace." 

Victoria eyed the other two with suspicion for a moment. Her gut instinct was to hiss at them and run to Munkustrap. But if she was going to be a Jellicle, she would need to learn how to deal with conflicts by herself, so she forced herself to take a deep breath and relax her posture.

"We wanted to thank you," Mungojerrie said, carefully.

That made the white cat tilt her head in confusion. What could they possibly have to thank her for? 

"For not telling Munkustrap," he continued, in a lower voice, "about our... incident."

Understanding then downed on Victoria. Of course. They were already in a bad situation with the Jellicle leader, if he knew they had left her for dead...

"I didn't do it for you," she answered, "I simply didn't want to give him more to worry about."

"We understand that," the other queen said, "but still. Thank you."

"And," Mungojerrie quickly added, "We also wanted to apologize to you. Leaving you behind was just... wrong. But we never meant for you to get hurt."

She looked at them with mistrust. 

"So it was just a bit of fun? Like when you helped Macavity?"

Despite herself, she felt a twinge of guilt from the way the twins winced at her words.

"Bombalurina told us it was just a prank," Rumpleteazer muttered, looking up at Victoria, "We would never have done it if we knew Macavity wanted to hurt Old Deut and the others."

Victoria hesitated. She didn't want to believe them too easily, but it was hard to miss the way Rumpleteazer turned her head to the side, trying to hide the tears forming in her eyes. She also saw the way Mungojerrie put his arm around his sister, as if both to comfort and protect her.

"We like to joke around but... we would never want to hurt another cat," Mungojerrie continued.

Rumpleteazer took a step closer to Victoria, leaving the protective circle of her brother's arms.

"We messed up a lot yesterday," she said, "but for what's worth, we really are sorry."

Victoria sighed deeply. Seeing their regret, her immediate instinct was to trust them, but she knew she had to be careful.

"I... believe in you," she said, hesitantly.

At that, the other two's ears immediately perked up.

"But," she added, "I'm still going to need you two to win back my trust before I can feel comfortable around you."

"Absolutely."

"Anything you want," they replied, at the same time.

Victoria took a deep breath as she eyed the hopeful glint in their eyes. She really hoped she wasn't making a mistake.

"You two should go now," she said, "Munkustrap will be here soon, and I'm not sure if he'd want to see you so soon."

The two calicos exchanged a look.

"You're right," Mungojerrie said, slumping his shoulders.

"Munk's gonna be a lot tougher to talk to..." Rumpleteazer mumbled, in a sad tone.

That made Victoria wonder how their relationship with the leader was before the ball. She knew Munkustrap cared for all the cats, but how close could he have been to such troublemakers?

"We'll be going then," the tom said, rushing his sister through the window, "thank you, again."

And with that, they disappeared into the clutter of buildings behind the theatre. Victoria hopped onto the windowsill to see if she could spot them, when she was hit with the strangest urge to follow them. She ignored it, instead choosing to look up at the sky, where the first stars of the night began to shine. Soon, the moon would be up as well.

Since she was a kitten, Victoria had loved the moon and the stars. No matter what happened or where she was, she knew she could always count on them to be there.

"Beautiful, aren't they?"

Victoria jumped, her heart almost beating out of her chest. A light chuckle made her turn her head to the source of the voice.

"Apologies," Munkustrap said, a smile playing in the corner of his lips, "I didn't mean to startle you."

He sat on the other end of the windowsill. Despite his relaxed posture and the curiosity in his gaze as he looked at her, Victoria could tell he was trying to hide how tired he was.

"It wasn't your fault, I was just distracted" she replied, clutching her chest as if to steady her heartbeat, "How long have you been there?"

"Not long," he answered, turning his face to the stars, "I've always enjoyed looking at them, you know. Something about how there are so many of them, always there, always shining, just feels... magical."

Watching him like this, face serene and lit by the streetlamp light, made a sense of security bloom in Victoria's chest. She was so caught up in the moment, she didn't even notice how fond her smile was.

"I can understand that," she said, tearing her eyes away from the other cat, "I find them very... soothing. It's just good to know there's something I can always count on."

The last bit caught Munkustrap's attention. Thinking of what she must have gone through, of how alone she must have felt until now... It broke his heart. She was part of the clan now, which meant she was his responsibility, so he was going to help her. Make sure she adapted to everyone, to their dynamic. Make sure she knew she had more to rely on than the stars.

"I spoke to Mistoffelees just now," he said, breaking the silence after a moment.

"Oh? I didn't know he had already met with you," Victoria said, her tone marked with surprise.

"We bumped into each other right after I got here, and he had to rush home because of the hour, so he told me about your day before he left," he explained, "Sorry about that, by the way. I didn't expect to take so long finish what I had to do, but I got caught up."

"Ah I see..." she said, "And don't worry about it, I barely noticed the time pass. It wasn't anything too serious that held you up, I hope?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle," he assured her, offering a tired smile.

She scooched closer to him, so she could rub her cheek on his shoulder. For a terrifying moment, Munkustrap went still, before relaxing into her touch.

"Mistoffelees told me Cassandra is already warming up to you," he said, his voice so soft it was almost a whisper.

There was something about his presence that made her feel so at peace, she could almost fall asleep like that, head resting on his shoulder and all. It didn't take much observing to see why Old Deuteronomy had made him her second in command.

"Yeah, " she chuckled, and he didn't miss the relief in her tone, "She even invited me to hang out."

"See? One day as a Jellicle and you already fit in."

They sat like that in silence for a moment, resting against each other and gazing at the stars. The winter air was cool against them, and the moon had just begun to appear over the rooftops. It took a few minutes of gathering up her courage for Victoria to break the silence and ask the other something that had been bothering her since her talk with the twins earlier.

"Munkustrap," she tried, still unsure whether or not it was her place ask.

He hummed in response, still looking up at the night sky.

"Can I ask you something?"

Sensing something in her tone, he slowly straightened his back, careful not to startle her.

"Of course."

"What are you going to do about Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer?"

The question drew a deep sigh from Munkustrap, and Victoria almost regretted asking it. But she needed to know more about his relationship with the twins.

"I'm not sure," he said, and his expression was almost one of pain, "I obviously can't kick them out, but now everyone will have trouble trusting them, and that will affect the clan's entire dynamic."

He paused for a moment, conflict written all over his face.

"But it's also difficult to be too harsh on them, given how involved Bombalurina was in all of it-" he caught himself a moment too late.

"Why? What does she have to do with them?"

He gave her a quick glance, clearly debating whether or not he would answer her question. Victoria waited in silence, looking at him expectantly. The twins had mentioned Bombalurina earlier, and it sounded almost like they had wanted to trust her when she told them her plan was just a prank, which didn't make much sense to Victoria.

Finally, Munkustrap spoke.

"Bombalurina... she used to be a Jellicle," he started, in an almost hesitant way.

Surprise washed over Victoria. How could someone like that, who was so willing to do Macavity's bidding, have once been a part of their community? Of course, she knew Grizabella had gone with him too, but he had taken advantage of her dreams of seeing the world to trick her. 

But if Macavity had tricked Grizabella, could he not have done something similar to Bombalurina?

"She used to be very close to Cassandra and Demeter," he continued, "They were like sisters, the three of them. Then, Macavity came along. He offered her power and seduced her into running off with him."

His voice was neutral as he told her the story, but he couldn't hide the hurt in his eyes from reliving the memories. Victoria waited patiently for him to be ready to continue, resisting the urge to reach out and comfort him.

"The girls were never the same after she left," he said, "Demeter has huge trust issues, and Cassandra felt she had to be strong for the two of them, so she shielded her emotions from everyone. Both of them blamed Grizabella for turning her back on us and weakening the bond between the community."

"The twins were young when that happened, and they were very affected by it," he continued, "So I understand how they must have felt when Bombalurina reached out to them. Still, that doesn't excuse them partnering with Macavity, even if they weren't aware of the gravity of the situation."

"What does Old Deuteronomy think?" Victoria asked.

"She said we should keep an eye on the twins, so they don't get into more trouble, and just let the others give them the cold treatment until they win their trust back," he said, "So that's probably what we're going to do."

"Do you think that will work?"

"Probably," he answered, "Some will take longer to forgive them, but eventually everything will go back to normal."

"It's very kind of you to give them a second chance," she said, resting a careful paw on his shoulder.

"We're all family here," he said, turning to her and placing his paw over hers, "It's what we do."

Then, he stood slowly, pulling her up with him. The night air had grown colder, and the moon shone much higher in the sky.

"I have to go home now, will you be alright?" he asked, watching her with attention.

She offered him a smile, letting go of his paw and taking a small step back as if to gesture he was free to go. In truth, she wasn't looking forward to spending another night alone, but she would have to get used to it eventually.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"I'll see you in the morning, then," he smiled at back at her.

With that, he turned his back to her and leapt from the windowsill to the pavement below, glancing back at her over his shoulder before disappearing into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!
> 
> \- love, aqua

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :)))


End file.
